Cromwell assessor saves town $100,000 ahead of revaluation

GIS technology allows comparison of aerial views to photos from past years

Published 3:18 pm, Tuesday, January 17, 2017

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Cromwell Town Hall

Cromwell Town Hall

Photo: File Photo

Cromwell assessor saves town $100,000 ahead of revaluation

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CROMWELL >> Work has already begun on this year’s revaluation.

The state mandates municipalities conduct a revaluation every five years in order to get a more accurate appraisal of the worth of homes and businesses and also to adjust for fluctuations in the housing market. This year’s revaluation is not the more in-depth revaluation that takes place once in a decade, Assessor Shawna M. Baron said.

“The state requires we inspect the properties (in person) every 10 years. But it doesn’t define what ‘inspection’ means,” Baron explained.

The revaluation is scheduled to be completed by November and is costing the town $144,000, Baron said. Preliminary work began in September, when the town chose a new vendor, Northeast Group LLC of Warwick, Rhode Island, to conduct the revaluation.

Baron said the town is using a variety of options to help contain the cost of the revaluation. Chief among those options is the town’s reliance on its GIS system to create an aerial view of the town and locate individual buildings within the town. The pictures can then be used in conjunction with photographs from previous years to compare structures and determine which buildings have either been expanded or have new structures on their property, Baron said. The reliance on the GIS system helps Northeast by eliminating the need for its employees to go door-to-door to get basic information, Baron said.

The town is also making use of data mailers which have been sent out to each individual homeowner and business. Residents are asked to fill out the mailers and report “if they have added a new bedroom or bathroom or have finished their basement,” Baron said.

Baron also reviews the reports of home sales to see if what is being advertised — the number of bath and bedrooms, for instance — matches what is in her records. By employing a combination of efforts, “We were able to save the town approximately $100,000,” Baron said.

The town held a lottery of sorts, choosing 300 property owners at random who will have their homes and properties inspected.

Having explained the procedures attendant to a revaluation, Baron went into detail about what a revaluation is not.

“It’s not about raising taxes. It’s about shifting the tax burden equally, based on market property values,” she said.

Once they do receive the revaluations, residents have a range of options to appeal if they wish to contest the outcome, Baron said. They can begin by contacting the company, she said. If they are still not satisfied, “they can make an appointment to appeal it to the Board of Assessment Appeals,” Baron said.

If residents are still not happy or feel an error has been made, they can appeal the BAA’s decision in court, Baron said. However, Baron suggested residents who have questions about the process began by calling her office at 860-632-3442.